The present thesis is primarily motivated by the will to provide help for decisionmaking on the overall layout of a house or a housing development in the very early stages of design from the point of view of energy efficiency and thermal comfort. This study contributes towards a deeper understanding of thermal interactions between a house and its adjacent enclosed open spaces. It addresses the contribution of the yard design, i.e. placement, size and type towards the development of a comfortable microclimate within the yard itself, as well as the reduction of total energy demands of the house for mechanical heating and cooling. The focus is put on the applicability of the results and findings are expressed in form of a decision-making aid. This research also makes empirical and analytical assessments on the validity of some existing methods and tools that are used for understanding the nature of microclimates in small scales and proposes methods for their improvement, particularly when used in conjunction with standard tools for the assessment of indoor climates. These methods are also demonstrated through an exemplary application in an archetypal setting and the results of the exemplary case are analysed to reach a decision on the most advisable design layouts for the buildings in the example. As a result, this work emphasises on the importance of private outdoor spaces and how their careful design can benefit occupiers, investors and the environment.

Thermal comfort receives little priority in the planning and design of bicycle pathways. Design tools are required to illustrate the importance of the relationship between climate and bicycling activity to improve the bicycling experience and extend the bicycling season in a cold climate. Microclimatic and bicycle pathway design principles were integrated with a COMFA model to simulate the thermal comfort of users bicycling on a proposed pathway in Ottawa, Canada. Modelling results predicted bicyclists could be thermally comfortable travelling at a steady-state speed of 16.0-19.2 km/h, but preferred to be cooler when travelling at higher speeds and warmer in colder months when standing at rest. Design implications recognized the compatibility of microclimatic and bicycle pathway design principles and demonstrated how a bioclimatic approach to designing bicycle infrastructure can encourage user thermal comfort, mitigate weather discomforts, accentuate seasonal climate conditions, and address a more inclusive combination of bicycle user design criteria.

Due to the current practices of street design in countries with hot and humid climates that prioritise air-conditioned cars as the favoured mode of transport, the physical and spatial characteristics of the street space have failed to retain much or any user-friendliness for walking or for sustaining street life. Moreover, particularly in Saudi Arabia, the increasingly sedentary lifestyle is leading to significant health problems and prevalence of lifestyle diseases. However, there has been limited research conducted on the use of urban streets under hot and humid conditions, and even less is known about the impact of certain sociocultural aspects in, for example, Muslim countries, on the design of streets for walking. Such a situation poses challenges to the urban space researcher and designer interested in gaining a better understanding of how walking can be restored into the street space. This thesis contributes to the advancement of knowledge in this area by integrating three influential factors connected to walking in a single study; an approach which has not been elaborated previously. This thesis aimed to broaden the understanding of pedestrians’ requirements, attitudes and preferences in order to identify ways in which the neglected street space can be reclaimed for walking under hot-humid climatic conditions and to inform decision-making into improved street design. The scope of this research centred on combining an understanding of pedestrians’ thermal comfort in a hot and humid urban environment, that of the city of Dammam in Saudi Arabia, where the problem is particularly acute, coupled with exploration into the socio-cultural aspects through which behaviour such as undertaking increased physical activity is governed. The research postulated an interactive relationship between the existing conditions of the street space and these two factors. Owing to the multifaceted nature of the factors affecting an individual’s choice to walk, there are few accepted theoretical frameworks, hence studying the cause-and-effect relationship between street design and walking is challenging. Following the literature review and analysis of existing street characteristics; the strategy of mixed-method data collection combining participant observation with interviews and a questionnaire was conducted. The findings revealed the dual impact of key street characteristics on pedestrians’ reluctance to walk on streets and this led to two levels of simultaneous interventions being suggested: physical and spatial. The analytical process (1) identified the upper thermal comfort limit for pedestrians by application of the Physiological Equivalent Temperature index, ‘PET’, through use of the RayMan Software; (2) revealed that physical proximity to other people while on the street is the most sensitive socio-cultural issue in the outdoor spaces of Saudi, particularly between the opposite sexes, and that the existing pavements are generally too narrow to accommodate the preferred personal distance; (3) identified appropriate design interventions at the microscale of the street space to introduce improved shading and create air movement to reduce the impact of solar radiation and humidity and thus to contribute towards encouraging more use of streets for walking; and (4) marking the pavement to indicate distance walked along with high quality streetscape elements was shown to attract pedestrians effectively. Such findings have significant implications for restoring the place of walking on streets in hot and humid cities and the research concludes by emphasising: (1) it is the design of the street space in climatically responsive and socio-culturally compatible ways, rather than the configuration of the urban form that is most associated with increasing physical activity; (2) there is a crucial need to redistribute the street space away from cars and towards pedestrians by widening the existing pavements both for satisfying the average personal comfort distance between pedestrians and for incorporating appropriate streetscape elements.

This research studied the relationship between transit users’ travel experience and the built environment bus rapid transit (BRT) stations. The study recorded attributes of the built environment and user perceptions at eight Emerald Express stations between Eugene and Springfield, Oregon as case studies. It found that of the attributes studied, transit users’ satisfactions of pedestrian accessibility had strong correlations with their preference of using EmX over a car. It also found that users perceived stations in built environments with spare street shading and commercial land-uses as less safe, and were also less satisfied with weather protection at stations with low street shading. The study found Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) and Predicted Mean Votes (PMV) to mostly identify the same categories of thermal stress. The study developed a rating system to evaluate station performance based on quantitative attributes and suggests short and long term improvements to improve semi-outdoor bus stations.

abstract: Moderate physical activity, such as walking and biking, positively affects physical and mental health. Outdoor thermal comfort is an important prerequisite for incentivizing an active lifestyle. Thus, extreme heat poses significant challenges for people who are outdoors by choice or necessity. The type and qualities of built infrastructure determine the intensity and duration of individual exposure to heat. As cities globally are shifting priorities towards non-motorized and public transit travel, more residents are expected to experience the city on their feet. Thus, physical conditions as well as psychological perception of the environment that affect thermal comfort will become paramount. Phoenix, Arizona, is used as a case study to examine the effectiveness of current public transit and street infrastructure to reduce heat exposure and affect the thermal comfort of walkers and public transit users. The City of Phoenix has committed to public transit improvements in the Transportation 2050 plan and has recently adopted a Complete Streets Policy. Proposed changes include mobility improvements and creating a safe and comfortable environment for non-motorized road participants. To understand what kind of improvements would benefit thermal comfort the most, it is necessary to understand heat exposure at finer spatial scales, explore whether current bus shelter designs are adequate in mitigating heat-health effects, and comprehensively assess the impact of design on physical, psychological and behavioral aspects of thermal comfort. A study conducted at bus stops in one Phoenix neighborhood examined grey and green infrastructure types preferred for cooling and found relationships between perception of pleasantness and thermal sensation votes. Walking interviews conducted in another neighborhood event examined the applicability of a framework for walking behavior under the stress of heat, and how differences between the streets affected perceptions of the walkers. The interviews revealed that many of the structural themes from the framework of walking behavior were applicable, however, participants assessed the majority of the elements in their walk from a heat mitigation perspective. Finally, guiding questions for walkability in hot and arid climates were developed based on the literature review and results from the empirical studies. This dissertation contributes to filling the gap between walkability and outdoor thermal comfort, and presents methodology and findings that can be useful to address walkability and outdoor thermal comfort in the world’s hot cities as well as those in temperate climates that may face similar climate challenges in the future as the planet warms. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2019

abstract: The rapid rate of urbanization coupled with continued population growth and anthropogenic activities has resulted in a myriad of urban climate related impacts across different cities around the world. Hot-arid cities are more vulnerable to induced urban heat effects due to the intense solar radiation during most of the year, leading to increased ambient air temperature and outdoor/indoor discomfort in Phoenix, Arizona. With the fast growth of the capital city of Arizona, the automobile-dependent planning of the city contributed negatively to the outdoor thermal comfort and to the people's daily social lives. One of the biggest challenges for hot-arid cities is to mitigate against the induced urban heat increase and improve the outdoor thermal. The objective of this study is to propose a pragmatic and useful framework that would improve the outdoor thermal comfort, by being able to evaluate and select minimally invasive urban heat mitigation strategies that could be applied to the existing urban settings in the hot-arid area of Phoenix. The study started with an evaluation of existing microclimate conditions by means of multiple field observations cross a North-South oriented urban block of buildings within Arizona State University’s Downtown campus in Phoenix. The collected data was evaluated and analyzed for a better understanding of the different local climates within the study area, then used to evaluate and partially validate a computational fluid dynamics model, ENVI-Met. Furthermore, three mitigation strategies were analyzed to the Urban Canopy Layer (UCL) level, an increase in the fraction of permeable materials in the ground surface, adding different configurations of high/low Leaf Area Density (LAD) trees, and replacing the trees configurations with fabric shading. All the strategies were compared and analyzed to determine the most impactful and effective mitigation strategies. The evaluated strategies have shown a substantial cooling effect from the High LAD trees scenarios. Also, the fabric shading strategies have shown a higher cooling effect than the Low LAD trees. Integrating the trees scenarios with the fabric shading had close cooling effect results in the High LAD trees scenarios. Finally, how to integrate these successful strategies into practical situations was addressed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Architecture 2020

<p>Cilj ovog istraživanja je kreiranje algoritma za pobolj&scaron;anje spolja&scaron;njeg<br />termalnog komfora u velikim urbanim sredinama, uzimajući u obzir<br />određene geometrijske parametre izgrađenog okruženja, primenom<br />softverskih aplikacija za parametarsko modelovanje. Algoritam za<br />pobolj&scaron;anje spolja&scaron;njeg termalnog komfora ima opciju automatske<br />izmene lokacije čoveka, &scaron;to omogućava procenu termalnog komfora u<br />području velikih razmera, kao &scaron;to su bulevari, blokovski prostori, trgovi i<br />drugi. Takođe, algoritam za pobolj&scaron;anje spolja&scaron;njeg termalnog komfora<br />omogućava i automatsko menjanje visina zgrada u cilju postizanja<br />optimalnog urbanog dizajna koji podrazumeva najbolji spolja&scaron;nji termalni<br />komfor.</p> / <p>The aim of this research is to create an algorithm for improvement of<br />outdoor thermal comfort conditions in urban areas taking into account<br />certain geometrical parameters of built urban environment, applying<br />parametric modelling and different software packages. The algorithm<br />for improving the outdoor thermal comfort offers the option of<br />automated change of a man&rsquo;s location, which enables the evaluation<br />of outdoor thermal comfort in large-scale urban areas, such as<br />boulevards, courtyards, squares etc. In addition, the algorithm for<br />improving the outdoor thermal comfort also allows automatic<br />variations of building height in order to achieve the optimal urban<br />design which implies the best outdoor thermal comfort.</p>

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第24908号 / 農博第2571号 / 新制||農||1102(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 柴田 昌三, 教授 北島 薫, 教授 小杉 賢一朗 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

[ES] Tradicionalmente, los espacios abiertos al aire libre han sido utilizados por los habitantes como lugares clave para la vida social, donde la gente pasa su tiempo libre. Sin embargo, debido a problemas de confort térmico, se ha reducido su uso. Es necesario mantener estos espacios activos mejorando el nivel de confort térmico. Hasta ahora, los estudios anteriores han carecido de un enfoque morfológico integral de las áreas urbanas y su impacto en el confort térmico. Entre los diversos componentes del entorno construido, las superficies verticales ocupan una gran parte del área, y el papel de estas superficies en la radiación térmica ha sido descuidado en los estudios a escala urbana. Este estudio tiene como objetivo desarrollar una respuesta efectiva para el confort térmico humano en espacios urbanos al aire libre, considerando la configuración geométrica de las superficies verticales. El estudio comienza con una revisión exhaustiva de estudios indios previos que se centran en el confort térmico en exteriores. Después de adquirir los conocimientos necesarios en el campo y comprender las lagunas existentes en los estudios de confort térmico en India, se presta atención a los sitios y las respectivas zonas climáticas. El estudio se centra en dos espacios abiertos comerciales en el clima compuesto de Delhi y cuatro barrios residenciales diferentes en Jaisalmery, analizando el efecto de las superficies verticales en el confort térmico humano al aire libre. Se llevaron a cabo simulaciones utilizando el software Envi-met para obtener varios índices climáticos, que se analizaron junto con parámetros físicos definidos por la relación altura-ancho, el factor de visión del cielo y la orientación de las superficies verticales. Se realizaron mediciones de campo para validar los resultados obtenidos de las simulaciones de Envi-met, y también se realizó una encuesta para comprender el nivel subjetivo de confort térmico. Los resultados se analizaron para la temporada de verano, ya que el invierno no es dominante y tiene una duración corta en el año. El estudio revela que las superficies verticales y su geometría tienen un efecto significativo en el confort térmico exterior. Las geometrías urbanas complejas pueden generar diferentes niveles de confort térmico en proximidad cercana, observándose variaciones en el nivel de confort térmico debido a los cambios en las geometrías de las superficies verticales alrededor de los espacios abiertos. El acceso solar, la sombra y la velocidad del viento también influyen en el confort térmico, siendo evidente el efecto de los parámetros geométricos en las sensaciones térmicas de los usuarios. Una mayor relación altura-ancho puede ayudar a mejorar el nivel de sensación térmica, aunque la influencia del factor de visión del cielo es menos prominente. Este estudio proporcionará pautas para arquitectos, arquitectos paisajistas, planificadores e ingenieros para diseñar espacios abiertos al aire libre cómodos desde el punto de vista térmico. Además, se abordará seriamente problemas a gran escala como el efecto de isla de calor urbano. Los espacios exteriores ya no se considerarán como espacios adicionales una vez que se construyan los edificios, y desde la etapa conceptual, los diseñadores considerarán el espacio exterior al diseñar los edificios y las funciones interiores. Este estudio también sentará las bases para futuras investigaciones, ya que abre varias direcciones que requieren atención. Considero que la investigación en este campo tiene un alcance amplio en el futuro, dado que la temperatura de la Tierra está aumentando debido al calentamiento global. Es responsabilidad de los arquitectos diseñar espacios de manera que la experiencia del usuario no se vea afectada mientras se mantiene el nivel de confort térmico. / [CA] Tradicionalment, els habitants han utilitzat espais a l'aire lliure com a llocs clau per a la vida social, on la gent passa el seu temps lliure. Tanmateix, a causa dels problemes de confort tèrmic, el seu ús s'ha reduït. Cal mantenir aquests espais actius, millorant el nivell de confort tèrmic. Fins ara, els estudis anteriors no han tingut un enfocament morfològic integral de les zones urbanes i el seu impacte en el confort tèrmic. Entre els diversos components de l'entorn construït, les superfícies verticals ocupen una gran part de la zona, i el paper d'aquestes superfícies en la radiació tèrmica s'ha descuidat en estudis a escala urbana. Aquest estudi pretén desenvolupar una resposta efectiva per al confort tèrmic humà en espais a l'aire lliure urbà, tenint en compte la configuració geomètrica de superfícies verticals. L'estudi comença amb una revisió exhaustiva dels estudis indis anteriors que se centren en el confort tèrmic a l'aire lliure. Després d'adquirir els coneixements necessaris en el camp i comprendre les llacunes en els estudis de confort tèrmic a l'Índia, es presta atenció als llocs i a les zones climàtiques respectives. L'estudi se centra en dos espais oberts comercials en el clima compost de Delhi i quatre barris residencials diferents a Jaisalmery, analitzant l'efecte de les superfícies verticals sobre el confort tèrmic humà a l'aire lliure. Es van realitzar simulacions mitjançant el programari Envi-met per obtenir diversos índexs climàtics, que es van analitzar juntament amb paràmetres físics definits per la relació amplada d'alçada, el factor de visió del cel i l'orientació de les superfícies verticals. Es van realitzar mesures de camp per validar els resultats obtinguts de les simulacions Envi-met, i també es va realitzar una enquesta per comprendre el nivell subjectiu de confort tèrmic. Els resultats es van analitzar per a la temporada d'estiu, ja que l'hivern no és dominant i té una durada curta a l'any. L'estudi revela que les superfícies verticals i la seva geometria tenen un efecte significatiu en el confort tèrmic exterior. Les geometries urbanes complexes poden generar diferents nivells de confort tèrmic a prop, s'observen variacions en el nivell de confort tèrmic a causa dels canvis en les geometries de les superfícies verticals al voltant dels espais oberts. L'accés solar, l'ombra i la velocitat del vent també influeixen en el confort tèrmic, l'efecte dels paràmetres geomètrics sobre les sensacions tèrmiques dels usuaris és evident. Una proporció d'amplada d'alçada més alta pot ajudar a millorar el nivell de sensació tèrmica, tot i que la influència del factor de visió del cel és menys destacada. Aquest estudi proporcionarà directrius perquè arquitectes, arquitectes paisatgístics, planificadors i enginyers dissenyin espais a l'aire lliure termalament còmodes. A més, es tractaran seriosament problemes a gran escala com l'efecte insular de calor urbana. Els espais exteriors ja no es consideraran espais addicionals un cop construïts edificis i des de l'etapa conceptual, Els dissenyadors tindran en compte l'espai exterior a l'hora de dissenyar edificis i funcions interiors. Aquest estudi també posarà les bases per a futures investigacions, ja que obre diverses direccions que requereixen atenció. Crec que la investigació en aquest camp té un abast ampli en el futur, ja que la temperatura de la Terra augmenta a causa de l'escalfament global. És responsabilitat dels arquitectes dissenyar espais perquè l'experiència de l'usuari no es vegi afectada mantenint el nivell de confort tèrmic. / [EN] Traditionally the outdoor open spaces were used by inhabitants; the social life was largely dependent on the user spending time in outdoor spaces. These spaces including streets, markets, shopping precincts, community centers, plazas, and playgrounds play a vital role in the social life of communities. Due to thermal comfort issues, the use of these spaces is declining. It is necessary to keep these spaces active by improving the thermal comfort level. The focus on a single morphological entity of an urban area and its effect on thermal comfort level is lacking in earlier studies. Out of the various components of the built environment, the vertical surface is one of the components which occupies the maximum area. The role of vertical surfaces in thermal radiation remains unresolved, unobserved, unexplored, and unapplied at the urban scale studies. This study aims to develop an effective response for human thermal comfort level in an outdoor urban space affected by the geometrical configuration of vertical surfaces. The study begins with an in-depth review of Indian studies which are focused on outdoor thermal comfort. After grasping the necessary knowledge in the field and understanding the gaps present in thermal comfort studies in India, the sites and the respective climatic zones were given attention. This study is focused on two different commercial open spaces in the composite climate of Delhi and four different residential neighborhoods in Jaisalmer and discussed the effect of vertical surfaces on human thermal comfort in an outdoor environment. Software simulations with Envi-met were performed to achieve various climatic indices. These indices were analyzed with physical parameters defined by the height-to-width ratio, sky view factor, and the orientation of vertical surfaces. Field measurements were conducted to validate the results obtained from Envi-met simulation outputs. Alongside this, a questionnaire survey was conducted to understand the subjective thermal comfort level. Results were analyzed for the summer season since winter is not dominant and lasts only for a short duration of the year. The study shows that the vertical surfaces and their geometry have high effects on outdoor thermal comfort. Complex urban geometries can result in varying thermal comfort levels. Within small proximity, the variation in thermal comfort level can be observed due to the change in the vertical surface geometries around the open spaces. The effect of solar access, shade, and wind velocity is seen in the thermal comfort level. The effect of geometrical parameters is evident in the thermal sensation votes of the user. A higher height-to-width ratio can help improve the thermal sensation level, whereas the effect of the sky view factor is less prominent. This study will give guidelines for architects, landscape architects, planners, and engineers to design thermally comfortable outdoor open spaces. It will also create a serious approach while considering the broad-scale issues such as the urban heat island effect. The outdoor spaces will not be considered as the leftover spaces once the building is constructed, whereas right from the conceptualization the designers will think about the outdoor space while designing the buildings and indoor functions. The study will also act as a base for future research since this research opens up several directions which need attention. I feel research in this field is of great scope in the future as the earth's temperature is increasing due to global warming. It is an architect's responsibility to design spaces in such a way that user experience is not affected while maintaining the thermal comfort level. / Khaire, JD. (2023). Effect of Vertical Urban Surfaces on Human Thermal Comfort in an Outdoor Environment [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/202304